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Topic #217 How do you feel about killing off one of your major characters?

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Sometimes killing off a major character is very troublesome. Writers spend a great deal of time creating these beings. They get to be attached even. Regardless of their status as bad guys or good guys, we know all their motivations, and their likeable qualities. They’re our errant children. Honestly, we probably would prefer they redeem themselves, but that has become too much of a trope.

Redemption is not always the best road for anti-heroes or villains. Neither is their demise, so it is a difficult decision to make. Not every character, either, that meets an end in the pages of one’s book is bad or necessarily expendable. Sometimes, you find yourself at an end with them, and the story’s strength depends on their death. Authors agonize over these choices. After all, we are attempting to write the best possible stories. Even though some readers think we relish in murdering their favorites, they must admit that this is not actually the case.

Well—it’s not always the case. When faced with killing off or continuing characters in Blue Honor, I chose to mostly avoid it. The United States Civil War was a bloody massacre, but not every man who took the field died. Not every soldier wounded was sawed to bits. This image of the war is mostly false. For the sake of accuracy, I chose not to kill off certain characters, because it needed to also show how money often sheltered individuals, the same as it does today. Power afforded different outcomes. The rich, white elite of the 1860s were largely safe, because they could afford care, but also because the eyes of other powerful individuals were watching over them. Thus, telling readers that any character in that demographic perished would be awkwardly wilful. After all, the entire reason that Hettie lives is because money and the abilities of those with it were put to the task. Money meant education, sanitary conditions, access to medicine, good food and water, etc. Emily couldn’t nurse Hettie or the Howell boy without her privileges to support her work. Not to mention that animals lamed in the service to the military were certainly done away with, and only those with money could afford to nurse a sick animal back to health for the sake of sentiment.

The choice not to kill these characters was clear, so I didn’t do it.

The matter was quite different in both OP-DEC: Operation Deceit and The Trailokya Series. The individuals who meet their demise in these books are quite deserving, at least I think they are. Yes, some of them have families, but who they are and what they stand for are unredeemable qualities. Nazis, abusive men, and violent demons aren’t exactly the types of loveable nitwits you want to offer a pass to. They are clearly bad people, and to write them any other way is not adding depth or interest. These are not anti-heroes. These characters are ultimate villains.

The decision to face these characters with their ends was logical. I remember a review of OP-DEC that described one villain as unrepentant. Indeed, that is accurate. Abusers are unrepentant. Any doubt of this is what they leverage to maintain their power and control. This is the room they seek to manipulate those around them, so they can continue abusing. It’s something that a lot of people are uncomfortable with accepting, but that just helps the abuser do their dirty work.

So, choosing to kill unrepentant villains is a logical step. That said, when to do so is the main concern for authors in that position. You don’t want to do it in a trope-fashion that is as bad as the redemption of not-so-bad-guys, nor do you want to take forever to get around to it. You have to gauge reader pay-off. It’s that simple. When will it make the reader give a fist pump instead of a hmmph? (Not every reader will be satisfied with your choice. Surprise!)

I’m sure that killing a character you love is very difficult. The Trailokya Series starts out this way and the third installment adds still more. I cried when I sent them off, because the deaths scenes were so wholly imagined in my mind. If you know the universe, this may seem a bit silly. I cried anyway, because transitions are hard. Letting go is hard. Changing someone fundamentally, forever, that too is like a death. Things that were are gone, and the future looks so new and uncertain. It’s uncomfortable, full of doubt, cold. I mean that, familiar people and places are warm comfort. New places, although they may be exciting, are still uncomfortable and cold. So much is up in the air. Anxiety is at its height.

Killing major characters can be easy and it can be hard, depending on who they are. The factors that affect me the most: age and personality (their struggle). Lena dying of cancer, alone in her hospital bed pissed off my mother when she first read it. I am sure, know that I have my own daughter, It would affect me even more strongly than it did at the time I wrote it. Children dying of cancer is something that makes me really angry. But the thing is, if Lena didn’t pass away, her character could not have propelled all the action into place that made up the story. Lena is a catalyst. Tragedy often is. So, while my mom is pissed off, I feel satisfied I did the right thing. I think you’ll see that, too, in all the choices I made around killing characters in my books.

Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors have to say about their process with ultimately ending character arcs. Click on their links below…

The Trailokya Trilogy Companion is a continuing online manuscript that illustrates and explains some of the details of the story, helping readers to keep things straight while they travel through the series. Readers can view this live companion book on Wattpad (either using the website or an app for their phone) absolutely free.

The companion is organized in alphabetical sections for convenience. In each section, the entries are organized like a dictionary along with original artwork and excerpts from the Trailokya Friday blog posts. In the coming weeks and months the blog will feature specific entries, to give you a taste of what is available in the companion.

WhiteGate. (n.) The entrance of Otzar, a bas-relief of the Trailokya creation and The Conflict of Hosts.

Image by 139904 from Pixabay.

An enormous carved treasure of solid marble, The White Gate is the entrance to the section of The White City called Otzar. This inner sanctum is the most sacred of areas in the city. Deep in the mountain well, the perpetual light casts its energy, a portal for atman arriving from Nirvana into the lower realms.

The heavy doors open upon the red corridor, which leads to the blue passages. Behind these areas is a forbidden world inhabited by Dominions and Virtues, both races of duta charged with the protection of arriving atman, indirectly interfaced incarnates, and the perpetual light. Other duta must have clearance, via orders, in order to enter Otzar. A guardian Dominion keeps watch at the end of the red corridor, and use their honed abilities to determine if a petitioner may pass. Even with orders, the intention of the entrant must be examined.

The security measures installed behind the White Gate were stiffened after the conflict. The gate once stood at the use of any duta wishing to access the well. This was one of the ways the fallen arrived into Samsara and abused the inhabitants without the knowledge of the councils. At the height of the well, there is a sophisticated transport room with access to the entirety of Samsara. Other outlets into that realm were closed during the course of the initial war, while others were assigned a guard at all times. Guardians and watchers who do tours in Samsara are coded with a key, which leaves a signature each time they use it, so that they can be tracked, allowing them more freedom despite the need for greater security around travel.

Image by erge from Pixabay.

The details of the gate carvings is a giant depiction of the balance between the three main realms: Zion, Samsara, and Jahannam. Prior to the conflict the image was three spheres in the above order from top to bottom. A great light shone at the crest of the top sphere. Radiant lines ejected from the trio to the edges of the doors, with clouds intermingling. The spheres slightly overlap, Zion touching Samsara, and Samsara encroaching Jahannam. Post Conflict, the door was added to with visions of the war, and a struggle to maintain Samsara. Souls and duta are depicted falling into the abyss at the bottom of the door with their leader who challenges the king of Zion that sits at the top above all. The burning is depicted as a physical threat that swallows the challengers of Zion’s authority. Warriors are captured in battle. Lungs (dragons of Wallhal) wind through the mele.

For duta, the gate is a monument to the veterans who fought in the conflict, and a reminder of what can happen without constancy.

Find out more about The White Gate by reading the series…

Click here to learn more about The Trailokya Trilogy, and let me know what questions you have in the comments. If you loved this article, subscribe to the blog to get more. Donate by buying a book.

The Trailokya Trilogy Companion is a continuing online manuscript that illustrates and explains some of the details of the story, helping readers to keep things straight while they travel through the series. Readers can view this live companion book on Wattpad (either using the website or an app for their phone) absolutely free.

The companion is organized in alphabetical sections for convenience. In each section, the entries are organized like a dictionary along with original artwork and excerpts from the Trailokya Friday blog posts. In the coming weeks and months the blog will feature specific entries, to give you a taste of what is available in the companion.

When a human soul declines, or burns down, it becomes a jiangshi, and the marditavya of a danava. If they’re lucky, they may be raised a danava themselves, but they would need to be superiorly evil, and display worth to their prince. When one comes across such an individual, they should not be taken lightly.

One such jiangshi is the Baroness of Acheron. Discovered by the baron of the pit, Sabereh was once a noblewoman of Earth. She lived during a time when the duta freely mingled with their assigns, prior to The Conflict that split the duta into two factions and opened the gates of Jahannam. Duta were then forbidden to reveal themselves to souls in Samsara without direct orders from the King or his regent. The passage of time erased them from everything but legend.

The danava took a similar line, functioning in the shadows. Into the shadows, Sabereh disappeared. Her guardian refused to give up hope, and the leaders of Zion continue the search, believing she was kidnapped against her will. The Baroness of the Pit was targeted by a duta who served as one of her husband’s advisors. Of renown beauty, Morgentus fell to obsession, slowly crossing the line with Sabereh until he raped her in her husband’s home. Fearing danger at the hands of her husband and the duta who had attacked her, she kept silent. Morgentus grew bolder, forcing her ladyship to engage with him at his command. Morgentus impregnated Sabereh and when the child was born, her husband commanded both mother and son be executed. Morgentus was turned over to duta authorities and the matter investigated. However, it was too late for Sabereh and the child.

by darksouls1 on Pixabay.com

Morgentus escaped Zion, and wandered Earth hiding from those seeking to bring him to justice. While there, he discovered the grey of Sabereh. Due to what happened to her, her sattva refused to return to Zion, who she believed knew and should have intervened. The truth was that Morgentus acted without their knowledge, manipulating and planning so that his kingdom was blind to his violence. His willful acts were not isolated incidents. This was the time of The Conflict. Throughout Samsara a dark awakening rippled through duta involved with souls. Zion was not prepared for it, or aware.

In response, Zion cast the duta out who committed crimes against souls of which they were assigned to protect. These individuals became danava and inhabited the dark prison world of Jahannam. Before Sabereh could be found by Zion’s forces, Morgentus carefully manipulated her to his side, and the pair entered Jahannam where they became the lord and lady of the Labyrinth, commanded by Prince Belial.

The child of Morgentus and Sabereh had no atman, and was destroyed for all time by the latter’s husband. Morgentus, however, put the blame wholly on Zion and promised himself revenge for the death.

Long years in Jahannam twisted Sabereh, her powers grew strangely, unlike any Jiangshi yet to come. She was gifted with the dark arts, and thus her form did not become porcine. Her craving for blood did not take control of her mind. Morgentus supplied her with all her needs and their match was peaceful between them until the day, eons later, that the Baron discovered a guardian of the Moon Order named Maiel. The old lusts returned to him, and his need to take ownership of the Moon Captain became his singular focus. Sabereh was cast to an afterthought. Thus, their relationship became bitterly strained.

Sabereh never challenged her husband, carefully choosing her battles in the shadows as their kind were wont to do. Morgentus had proven himself a vile enemy and she feared him. The Moon Guardian, however, raised her attention, clearly threatening Sabereh’s standing in Acheron should her baron win the erela. There was no reason to doubt him.

Find out more about the baroness by reading the series…

Click here to learn more about The Trailokya Trilogy, and let me know what questions you have in the comments. If you loved this article, subscribe to the blog to get more. Donate by buying a book.

The Trailokya Trilogy Companion is a continuing online manuscript that illustrates and explains some of the details of the story, helping readers to keep things straight while they travel through the series. Readers can view this live companion book on Wattpad (either using the website or an app for their phone) absolutely free.

The companion is organized in alphabetical sections for convenience. In each section, the entries are organized like a dictionary along with original artwork and excerpts from the Trailokya Friday blog posts. In the coming weeks and months the blog will feature specific entries, to give you a taste of what is available in the companion.

Acheron, Acherites. (n.) A central province of Acheron ruled by Prince Belial and his nobility; the inhabitants of Acheron. This is where the Pit of Acheron can be found (also called the Labyrinth), and the River of Woe. Baron Morgentus rules the Labyrinth and makes the most use of the souls that fill this province. Belial hides in his broken castle on the outskirts of the ruins of a city he once ruled on Earth.

Acheron is one of the most important locations in the hellscape of Jahannam. It sits central to the rest of that dark world, and its heart serves as a prison for many wayward souls taken by the danava. The care of this facility was given to Prince Belial’s baron, Morgentus, and is called The Pit of Acheron.

The Pit has become a prison for many distinguished duta who have caught the attention of the danava. Certainly it is the goal of any marditavya or danava to control and corrupt a duta, but the efforts are not unfocused. Being at war requires strategy, and the goal is to win. Danava are of the mind that corrupting certain duta will precipitate another mass burn down. Duta, however, who are true to their charge, are quite impossible to sway. The effort takes an incredibly long time and must be accomplished with careful manipulation that reveals the flaws of the atman, which will then be leveraged to ignite the burning.

The effort of burning down duta or souls is best accomplished within the confines of the pit. Here, the imprisoned face untold hardship, caught in a seemingly endless and confusing maze, which is often dark. The calls of the marditavya and danava wandering the passages creates an eerie atmosphere. Being caught by one, the soul or duta become a food source. Repeatedly drained to their crystal, the prisoners can lose their way. The stress preys on the mind. Even the strongest of duta are believed to have their limits. Danava are willing to push until they find them.

The pit changes shape at regular intervals, so that the labyrinth is never the same at any given time. The only fixed points are the entrances/exits, the deep-cloistered cells, and the Baron’s manor at the center. The baron’s seal marks the ruins of an earthly home he stole from an ancient leader, along with that man’s wife, who became his baroness.

The entirety of Acheron is under the rule of Prince Belial. Once a seraph, he betrayed the King of Zion by committing crimes against those of which he was charged to watch over. Belial rebuilt his menagerie of fallen Aghartians, dolls as they are called in Jahannam, after his fall. He and they are housed in the broken castle that was cast into their twilight realm with him.

The landscape of Acheron resembles a dark city. Dust of the conflict lies thick all around. Deviously whimsical buildings line cobble streets. It is a grave for a bygone, decadent era.

Find out more about Acheron by reading the series…

Click here to learn more about The Trailokya Trilogy, and let me know what questions you have in the comments. If you loved this article, subscribe to the blog to get more. Donate by buying a book.

The march of time is forever forward, whether we look back or stay in the present. There is no halting the advance. The theme of time weaves through the series like a character whispering to the reader. Those harried, barely audible sounds cast an air of urgency upon the narrative.

Now. It must all be done now, or never.

Many of us can empathize with the desperation felt when rushed for time. It is especially upsetting when life or limb are threatened by the failure to complete tasks on time. Or, the loss of loved ones, one’s self, or one’s place. That in itself is a horror.

The sense of time slipping away is one with which I am deeply familiar. Through much of my twenties and thirties, I had a nagging sense that the dreams and accomplishments that I wanted for myself were growing ever more unattainable, because, for some reason, I was failing to accomplish the steps that would carry me to them. It isn’t always the choices that we make that propel us to our desires. It is more precisely the randomness of probable outcomes that decide for us. There is only so much control we can have over our lives when other people have impacts upon us. This should not ignore the history we carry, and how that knowledge prepares us to do our work here on Earth.

There are those who would love to hammer us over the head about being responsible and making decisions that we own in the end, but they ignore that we don’t live in a vacuum. Absolutely, I agree that we have to decide and make our moves in order to accomplish our goals, but that isn’t the end of it. Those actions have to play out and we are never utterly responsible for everything that comes of them. Whether it is the impacts of negative or positive experiences in our youth, extensive or limited knowledge and education, or the activities of others in the moment, we are at the mercy of a multitude of variables. Let’s not forget that opportunity cannot always be made. For instance, I couldn’t conjure publishing connections from the air, and I knew no one in the business. Thus, I went to school, but I only made academic connections. Once graduated, contacts came few and far between. The internet wasn’t so easily maneuvered at that time. It has taken years to develop my network, and there were many dead ends on the road to publishing that came with the effort. What I wouldn’t have given to have trustworthy connections with which to work. It took a lot to find them, and it often seemed I worked harder than others to reach colleagues and maintain them.

In Trailokya, Maiel rushes through each of the books, propelled toward a destiny she isn’t even clear about, but readers will find that the result is exactly what her heart has desired the entire time. Maiel’s goals are inhibited and/or enabled by those around her. Things are hidden, slowly revealed, or disguised. She has to build a network outside of the existing one for her specific tasks during the time of the books. Those old connections either don’t serve her to advance, or they are incapable of doing such. Some even go so far as to outright refuse. Then, there are those in opposition. Our network isn’t always those who have our best interest in mind, or those we consider colleagues. A network can contain enemies. Network simply means a group of individuals working toward similar or interconnected goals.

The most poignant examples of time and the stress it causes is the story of Holly. Throughout the second book, we spend a great deal of time with this young woman. We feel her agony at being blocked from her dreams even as what she believes is a path is offered to her. We die a little inside with her as doors are closed, as charlatans offer fake assistance, as she flounders despite her efforts. This makes the abuse she experiences at the hands of her lover ever greater. Holly shows us that time isn’t enough sometimes. She shows us that time can be an enemy, as it ticks away, taunts and teases.

Perhaps even there is a metaphor couched in there about aging. We humans are given only so much time in which to live, and none of us knows what that amount of time is. Certainly, within the text, Maiel knows her mission and the number of years that the tour will take. The humans incarnated on Earth do not. Thus, Holly feels especially grieved by the march of time in light of her stagnant life. Imagine feeling like you are pressing down on the gas, but your car won’t go faster than a crawl, and sometimes it doesn’t go at all. Spinning your wheels in life is a big frustration.

When the path is unclear, we can still travel upon it, but it will take us so much longer to achieve the goals we seek.

Will you join Maiel and Holly on their paths? Start The Trailokya Trilogy for free on Wattpad…